Black People : Root Cause of Black Poverty

How does color relate to poverty? Both sides of the color line correlate poverty with color and there are various theories. Some think black culture is at fault (Bill Cosby's recent comments). Others see white racism as the active barrier to black prosperity. Genunine racists blame inferior black genes as the cause of poverty. Some people think that with harder work or better education the entire class of poor black can raise themselves up economically.

All of these theories are wrong. Our system is stacked against ANYBODY in the lowest economic level rising out of that level. The reason is RENT. As soon as poor people earn more money, the rent goes up. If every poor person worked twice as hard, landlords would simply raise the rent to devour the extra money.

This kind of system keeps poor people poor. African-Americans are on the bottom of the economic pyramid because they started at the bottom. You can't start any lower than an emancipated slave who has no land and no money to buy land. The newly freed slaves were force by necessity to go with hat in hand to their former masters to rent land to make a living. The former slave masters found that being a landlord was easier and made them more money than slave owning. All they had to do was rake in the rents and if their tenant couldn't pay he was evicted so somebody else could take his place.

Land reform is the first reform in securing economic justice. The way to do it is to tax land values at 100% of annual value. This will have the effect of making land expensive to invest in but cheap to use. Then ecomomic opportunity will finally be open to all.

How does color relate to poverty? Both sides of the color line correlate poverty with color and there are various theories. Some think black culture is at fault (Bill Cosby's recent comments). Others see white racism as the active barrier to black prosperity. Genunine racists blame inferior black genes as the cause of poverty. Some people think that with harder work or better education the entire class of poor black can raise themselves up economically.

All of these theories are wrong. Our system is stacked against ANYBODY in the lowest economic level rising out of that level. The reason is RENT. As soon as poor people earn more money, the rent goes up. If every poor person worked twice as hard, landlords would simply raise the rent to devour the extra money.

This kind of system keeps poor people poor. African-Americans are on the bottom of the economic pyramid because they started at the bottom. You can't start any lower than an emancipated slave who has no land and no money to buy land. The newly freed slaves were force by necessity to go with hat in hand to their former masters to rent land to make a living. The former slave masters found that being a landlord was easier and made them more money than slave owning. All they had to do was rake in the rents and if their tenant couldn't pay he was evicted so somebody else could take his place.

Land reform is the first reform in securing economic justice. The way to do it is to tax land values at 100% of annual value. This will have the effect of making land expensive to invest in but cheap to use. Then ecomomic opportunity will finally be open to all.

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My father took out a mortgage which increased with his income. Tried to tell him NOT to do this, but some people don't listen.

And I know a lot of black people today who are homeowners and pay a set monthly mortgage which is cheaper than the rent.

I don't knock renting because some people are just starting out and need to save money towards a mortgage. Getting a home is easier these days for all people.

A lack of education and knowledge is the barrier. And also, there are a lot of black women who prefer to have baby after baby and stay in low-income rentals. I know of women only having to pay less than $25 per month and they don't dare try to let their income increase.

I kid you not, there are young teenage girls who just get pregnant so they can get a subsidized apartment - stupid, ignorant young girls who are more concerned with having a place to stay and bringing in their no-good, no working men and letting the children suffer. I've seen this out of relatives and acquaintances.

There is nothing stopping black people from having better. Too many of them drop out of school when there are better opportunities for those who graduate from high school. And there are ways to get into college, but many black youth prefer to be on the streets selling drugs to obtain the expensive gear. They don't believe in hard work, but for getting what they want NOW.

It's time to stop blaming the white man and bringing up all this master-slave stuff. When will we as black people STOP the slavery talk? When will you get the shackles from your mind and realize that you have to work for what you want and that nothing is free?

Bill Cosby and others were NOT born wealthy. They didn't have it made like the Rockefellers and DuPonts today who were born with the silver and gold spoons.

Oprah wasn't born wealthy either. She made it by her wits. And there are other blacks who were not wealthy in the beginning.

The white man is not a barrier to my wealth or success. I don't have a lot of money, but I'm comfortable. I have a good job, a roof over my head, good health coverage and all is well with my children who are in college.

Our genes are not inferior to others. Look at how many times people have told me that I had strikes against me, that I was female and black. They said these things because they were failures themselves and we know how much "misery love company".

I don't even have a college degree yet. I sacrificed to make sure my kids were in college and getting the education they need to fulfill their dreams of being a chemist and a TV personality for a local station.

My son's dream is to be a news anchor. And he can fulfill that dream. My daughter loves chemistry and she is in her final year of college this fall.

I know many black people who have achieved their dreams and they never believed that they were inferior or unworthy of achieving their dreams.

This fall I plan to attend college also, to get a bachelor's degree and go on to achieve a Masters. It is NEVER too late.

Martin Luther King and others fought hard for blacks in the past and were successful. So, we need to cut out the emancipated slave talk and depend on the Master, Jesus Christ, and not some white man. Stop with the "massa" talk and be set free.

I read your response and I believe that rent is one of the reasons people seem to stay in poverty, however, there are many other factors that contribute to the poverty cycle. Where I live, our rent is based on your income. When I get a raise, my rent is affected by that raise. Many times I wonder what's the point of getting a rasie when you will have to give it right back up.
Another factor I believe contributes to poverty is the job market. I'll use my town as an example again. We have factories, stores and other businesses. If you're not at the top, pay is very little. In Arkansas, min wage is still $5.15...smh. People are working, but because of the area they live wages don't fit the cost of living.
There are so many other factors I could get into...like education or the lack of, or what I call the poverty mentality where if grandma was poor, and momma was poor, then I am doomed to be poor too, and they don't even try to beat this system.... I see that alot here also.
I'd like to see what others have to say as well.

There is nothing stopping black people from having better. Too many of them drop out of school when there are better opportunities for those who graduate from high school. And there are ways to get into college, but many black youth prefer to be on the streets selling drugs to obtain the expensive gear. They don't believe in hard work, but for getting what they want NOW.

It's time to stop blaming the white man and bringing up all this master-slave stuff. When will we as black people STOP the slavery talk? When will you get the shackles from your mind and realize that you have to work for what you want and that nothing is free?

Shaq: You are prepetuating a myth that says, "If a few blacks can rise from poverty and be rich like Oprah, than all poor people can rise." It's just not possible in the present system. As a matter of fact, the MORE the poor work harder, the harder they will have to work just to survive. This is because as poor people produce more, they have more money to spend on rent. Landlords raise the rent so that poor workers have the same net money as before but they must now work harder just to maintain.

To tell poor people that poverty is their own fault is to add cruel insult to injury. It's bad enough stuggling to survive in this unfair system, but to be told it is your own fault because you don't "believe in your dreams" or other such clap trap is too much.

Back in slavery times some slaves worked part-time for cash after their daily slave work was done. Some slaves saved up enough money to buy their freedom. In a similar way, we can buy our freedom today by saving up money to buy land. According to some people, this means we are in a free country. No, a free country is one where land is cheap to use and landlords are not in a position to crush the poor with rising rents.

Sister vj57, you appear to offer good motivational speeches when it comes to self empowerment and you suggest ways and means in which we can think and do for ourselves. Thank you for your contributions. But there are times when I find an inbalance in your discussion.

Very often you use yourself and your personal experiences as examples of the "negative" and the "positive" relative to these types of discussion which I think is helpful in order to see both sides of an issue. But at the same time it also appears that you presume that whenever someone mentions race in the context of describing social issues among Blacks, you think they are wallowing in a slave mentality and paying homage ( ) to white men (people). Which is not the case in every situation.

Your notion of what is "emancipated slave talk" may stem from experiences you've had but it causes me to ask whether you ever consider that your reality and perspective may not be someone else's, and as such, you should not take it upon yourself to devalue what other people might perceive to be real.

Believe it or not, there are Black people who are struggling every day to make ends meet, who want a better lifestyle and who desire to have things in life that make living a bit easier. There are those among us who are sick or have family who are sick and don't have the benefit of a healthcare plan like you to pay for doctor and hospital bills. Trust me sister, there are those among us who can't afford to buy food and it's through no fault of their own or lack of effort to find ways that they could.

What you offer in your testimonies as to what you have been blessed to have is positive and uplifting, but in no way should you or anyone presume to know what life and living is like for everyone else. Sometimes life just isn't as easy for some as it might be for others.

There are those of us who try and try hard--daily. There are those who need to be motivated and encouraged and lifted up because so often we are seldom treated this way. There are those among us who find it difficult to believe in ourselves because it's hard to find anything good about our existence. There are some who are lazy and others who are filled with hopelessness and have given up. Drinking, drugs, sexual promiscuity--that's not all about who we are, just some of us. There are those as you wrote who are "successful" in accumulating a lot of money. There are those like Martin Luther King, Jr. who have fought and died for what they believe in. But for each of the names we can rattle off the top of our head like that, there are even more who are unsung heroes out there fighting in the trenches every day to live a better life and help others like us do the same.

Believe it or not vj57, there are Black people who do have the ability to conduct intelligent conversations that explores different sides of an issue and not be crippled by what you call "massa talk." If you choose to overlook our history and focus on "self" then that's your choice. But there are others here who may not choose to do that and so this type of discussion will take place here in spite of your belief that it shouldn't.

Thank you for sharing your personal testimonies with us though. It's nice to know that you are doing as well as you claim you are. Good luck with college.

Success, to me, is not tied up in being wealthy. To me it's achieving the things that makes one happy. I am not wealthy in terms of my bank account, but wealthy in other ways, such as wisdom, good health, etc.

I do not minimize the past of African Americans. I learn from the past and move on. I read an excellent article recently about "letting go of the past". We who are alive today as black people didn't experience slavery, but many of us are taking on that mentality.

In my Christian walk, I know that I'm free. God is my provider - I depend on Him alone and never the white man or any other man.

I don't like what was done to my ancestors. But I can't change it. We are strong enough today to NOT allow any white man to shackle us again. There would be mass revolt (even murder) if the law of the land would reinstate slavery.

My brother made a statement that he can't get full time hours on his job because the white man won't give it to him. Well, my brother chose NOT to graduate from high school, and we all know that even to be a janitor today, one needs a high school diploma or GED. That is the decision HE made and he has to live with the results.

I realize that many black people suffer because of sickness. I know of those who are without food and that's why I make my contributions to help others. And if I know of friends or relatives who are in lack, I'm right there to assist. If this is the case with some of our people, by all means, we should open our hearts (and wallets) to assist.

After all, it's a hardship to have two kids in college, but thankfully, somebody cared enough to make a huge contribution to my son.

Yet, there are some of us who are in dire straits due to wrong decisions. And when people get involved in illegal drugs, this causes a lot of suffering for families. I've seen the results of drug abuse in families and how it affects the children; people who are so addicted that they neglect paying rent or getting food for their kids.

The lady who used to be a daycare provider for my son...she had a hard struggle after her husband "acted a fool". She already had five kids and was struggling hard. Yet, she would not allow the kids to drop out of school. She got rid of the husband, and her kids had talents. One of them was great with doing hair. (She has her own shop now). And the youngest, who was just a little older than my son, is in med school. Trish has improved her life and even furthered her education.

All is not lost for us black people. We can rise out of the ashes. We don't have to be downtrodden, but it takes determination and a strong faith and trust in God to get us "the good of the land".

the reason Black folks are poor is because they spend every dollar with some one non Black, therefore sending the money out of the community.

I got this concept from Tony Brown years ago.

as soon as a Black person “makes it” they go buy a Bentley, diamonds and gold and a house in the suburbs.

none of this money flows through the Black community.

if all the wealthy individuals in LA put their money in a Black bank, that bank could make mortgage loans to people in the ‘hood so they could own rather than rent.

If a greater share of Black cash flowed through the Black community we would all benefit.

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I'm not too far from you, James, in Wilmington. And if you've been to Wilmington, you would know there are not too many black-owned businesses. Perhaps in Philly, but NOT here.

And why shouldn't a black person buy a Bentley or a home in the 'burbs if they become very wealthy? You think I would want to live on the notorious 4th Street in Wilmington between Washington and Lincoln (and the surrounding areas) with all the filth and drugs? Why can't a black person purchase a home in an exclusive place like Westover Hills (wealthy people live there)?

Let me (or a generous relative) be fortunate enough to strike it rich, I'm outta Wilmington! Every darn week someone is getting shot to death. So, why would I want to stay in the mess when I can have a nice home in Westover Hills. I bet Tony Brown does not stay in the 'hood. He talks his mess, but I bet he's not driving a Huyundai either.

It seems to me that many blacks want to place limits on other blacks. If I want to shop at Saks 5th Avenue or spend $10K on a ring, if it's MY money and I can afford to do so, I'm going for it.

At least a black person who worked hard and strike it rich is entitled to spend his or her money the way they wish...it's not like they are some drug dealer on the streets getting wealthy by bring other black people down.

I watched one of my brothers with a big home, TWO brand new Audis, and designer clothing. He was tearing the black community down by selling drugs to destroy lives. At least if a black person actually won the powerball, it is considered gambling, but it's legal and I know darn well a black person with a $200 million winning ticket aint thinking about living in the 'hood. You think I would have my home built on 4th and Monroe in Wilmington IF I was that winner? Just because there are blacks in that area and perhaps a few black owned barbershops and beauty salons? You gotta be kidding!

To any black person, I would say, get out of dodge.

Many black people are poor because they make bad choices. I'm not seeing anyone elaborate on that. Many want things NOW and I've seen women spend big bucks on unnecessary things while the kids starve. Or some people buy a home or car they cannot afford.